The present invention relates to a vehicle interior panel and a vehicle airbag device.
Conventionally, automobiles are equipped with an airbag device for a front passenger seat. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-71926 discloses an airbag device that includes an instrument panel and an airbag module located on the back of the instrument panel. The airbag module includes an inflator, which generates inflation gas, and an airbag, which is inflated and deployed by the gas supplied by the inflator. The instrument panel has a base and a covering bonded to the surface of the base. A cleavage groove is formed on the back of the base. When the base is cleaved by inflation pressure of the airbag, the cleavage groove serves as a starting point of the cleavage.
In some cases, a cleavage groove is also formed on the back of a covering at a position corresponding to the cleavage groove of the base. An instrument panel that has such a covering allows the covering to be broken in a desirable manner along the cleavage groove of the covering when the base is cleaved. The cleavage groove of a covering is formed, for example, by the laser machining.
In the case of such an instrument panel and airbag device, a process is required for forming a cleavage groove on the covering. When the covering is bonded to the surface of the base, the positions of the covering and the base need to be adjusted such that the entire cleavage groove of the base and the entire cleavage groove of the covering are aligned with each other. This complicates the manufacturing process of the instrument panel.
In this respect, a covering may be made thinner to reduce the strength, so that the covering can be easily cleaved without any cleavage groove. In this case, however, the insufficient strength of the covering may degrade the durability of the instrument panel and the tactile sensation.